when will weight loss stop?!

Hello, I had a DS on 06/30/2012.  I have lost @ 180 pounds  I am currently 5'9" and weigh 147 (size 4/6).  I had a lower body lift last month and still have a little swelling from that, but it looks phenomenal and I never thought I could inhabit such a "normal body."  

My question is this.  I can't seem to stop losing weight.  Due to food intolerances that I had my whole life that seemed to have gotten worse after WLS, I eat little to NO dairy, wheat and sugar.  Even a bit of sugar will have me in the bathroom. I don't restrict myself (my stomach does b/c it has been made smaller with the DS).  I don't count calories and truly am able to eat when I am hungry and stop when satisfied.  I always go for protein first.  

I'm scared of how to level off and stop losing weight.  I keep thinking...WHAT IF my body doesn't stop losing? I know that is very rare to have happen...but my surgeon and regular dr. have both said that I don't need to lose any more weight. They have said this since I weighted 160. But I'm not trying to lose and I keep dropping. My husband says that I am too bony and "skinny." 

Help!

Usually that first year after you hit goal you look a little patheti****il your weight redistributes a bit. It's a process. Assure hubby it will get better just be patient. If you feel like you're still losing too much to be healthy, talk to your docs about prescribing Creon or another digestive enzyme. Hang in there.

--gina

Thanks, Major Mom!  I actually like being this light, I feel amazing and have taken up running.  People are treating me like I have an eating disorder.  If I drop below 135 I will discuss with my dr. I appreciate your response. 

I'm sure Gina's right on but I was wondering about revising your diet a little bit to see if that would help. If you did more carbs do you think you would still get in enough protein to stay healthy? Just a thought. The enzymes would help you absorb more from your regular diet and that might still be the best answer.

BY the way congratulations on doing such a great job with your DS.

Pete

I hit a very scary (for everyone else except ME) low of 100 pounds.  For like, um, 15 seconds.  I  stopped my weight loss by eating something that won't help you at all:  Reese's Peanut Butter cups.  I hate them now. 

Find something you LOVE that you can eat.  Invent something, if you have to.  Try cooking up different things like bacon wrapped shrimp, scallops, crab, your own granola recipes, just experiment until you find your go-to food.  Then go to town. 

Ignore your husband, while constantly reassuring him that your weight loss will stop.  You will get your magical "bounce back" sooner than you think.  Then you'll bounce a couple of times, plateu, and live happily ever after.  Yeah, for a while you might look like a bobble head.  Some of us do.  Just don't go out and buy $258 jeans at some fancy schmancy designer store.  Because that would really be sad.

your body will know when to stop losing.  You will also likely have the almost inevitable "bounce-back".  And like Gina has said, the weight you do have will redistribute. 

You and those close to you have been so accustomed to seeing the bigger you, that the new look will appear too skinny...but most of that is just in comparison to what they are used to seeing.  Give it some time

What is a "bounce back?" I do not know all of the terms.

most folks will lose weight by eating lots of protein and fats, with low carbs during the first year to 18 months, often referred to as the "weight loss window", during which the malabsorption works its best.  So by a year to 18 months out, you will lose weight, and most will reach their "goal", or their lowest weight.  

At that point, life returns a little more to normal.  Portion size increases, carbs lip into the diet, life continues.  Your intestines start to become more efficient and capture more nutrition form the food passing through, even though it is still going through the shorter common channel.  The result is that during year 2 and 3, most folks find their weight rising slightly - often a 10 pound "bounce back" from their lowest weight.  The weight redistributes, the face fleshes out a little, and a few pounds come back on.  Fo most of us, this is a good bounce back.  This then becomes our stable weight.  At over six years out, my weight loss is stable with a 10 pound bounce back.

And as cautioned, if you buy too many clothes at your very lowest, you may find them too small.  Wait until everything stablizes before buying a full new wardrobe, even though it is tempting to do so

Excellent to know. I feel like I need to lose ten more pounds to allow for the bounce back now. I like the weight I am now. 

I have been trying to not buy a lot of clothes, but I don't have much to wear. I buy things on sale and not too much, as we have very cold winters and very hot summers.  I wouldnt mind filling back out a bit but not actually regaining if that makes sense. Should I lower my goal weight to allow for bounce back? I don't eat wheat or dairy (I have my family and myself on no processed foods and no wheat/sugar, based on research I have done I dont want my kids eating that junk).

I also have chronic anemia will that get better w the better absorption? 

If you have trouble with anemia already, it's not going to get any better. I don't think we ever absorb micronutrients well. Iron is a tough one for us anyway. Be double prepared to fight for infusions if you don't have a hematologists that understands our malabsorption.

Oral supplements probably aren't going to cut it. They could but you'd have to follow a plan like Vitalady and use the products she offers due to the quality requirements she puts on her suppliers. For me it was 300 mg of her carbonyl iron and 2 tablets of Proferrin every day and my iron markers were just saggy not low.

--gina